At the session, many parents proclaimed racial/national superiority of science programs offered by Indian boards; articulating doubts about the ‘rigors’ of the science programs offered by the international framework. One parent, who had been quiet for most part, also shared the story of his academically brilliant son who had passed out of grade 10 from the very same school. Based on the outstanding scores of his son in grade 10 external examinations, the father decided that his son would benefit from intensive and focused coaching to crack the maniacal entrance examination to premier engineering institutes. The sixteen year old was packed off to the city of Kota in Rajasthan, a city with pathway to the engineering dream as its sole raison d’être. Statistically speaking, the cram schools in Kota have an impressive success rate. Like all cram schools, they are inhumane and depressing. A lesson learnt by this father the very hard way, as his teenage son became a nervous wreck and was clinically diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). That explained his presence at the session- he had been converted to a more holistic framework of education for his younger, equally brilliant son.

Skimming through the findings of 2011 Lenovo Global Student Science & Technology Outlook, excerpted here, left me connecting the dots:

1. Is Science more valuable to society than the Arts? Yes, it is, except in Russia. Kids in India and Mexico especially believe so.
2. What is the current state of Science in each country? Kids in Japan and Russia especially feel the number of students pursuing Science is declining. Kids in India feel the number is increasing.
3. How many kids are interested in pursuing a career in STEM? The least are in Japan. The highest interest is in India and Mexico.
4. Will STEM make them rich or change the world or both? Kids in India have the highest expectations of getting rich if they pursue a career in STEM. Kids in Russia have the least. Mexican and Japanese kids feel more strongly that they could change the world.

My two cents

In India, as in most other places, we misunderstand science and art and confine them to watertight subject boundaries. Science is not a set of subjects with a fixed body of knowledge; Science is a way of thinking, an attitude of curiosity, imagination and rationality.  The mental processes of an artist and scientist are the same.  It was one of greatest scientists of our times who said, “If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music” ~ Albert Einstein, highlighting the synergy symbiotic relationship between the two disciplines!

In most schools in India, we use the term science and science subjects interchangeably. In our science lessons, we discourage inquiry, reflection, and observation to make room for rote. Science subjects are taught (not learnt) as a dull drab mass of disjointed facts sans much science, the drudgery of which students tolerate due to parental pressure or some hope for gratification/ ROI in the future as the Lenovo survey amply demonstrates. Living in a poor nation like ours where majority of people are still deprived of basic necessities, I do not see even one science student with the zeal and passion of Severin Suzuki. The aim for studying science (or anything, actually) is simply to amass personal/individual riches.

With our tunnel vision of sciences and fundamentally in-the-box view of careers, the vast Indian middle-class parents still cannot think beyond medicine, engineering and IT for their children.  If you talk to them about the knowledge economy and that the career landscape in five years will be very different from today, with the emergence of new sciences, new art forms, new trends and paradigms of needs/wants; they are convinced that this implies that the quantum of information multiplied manifold so more rote and drudgery is required on part of their children to be successful in the uncertain future. Knowledge is pursued with such passion that understanding and application are frowned upon as infringements on precious, scarce time. The disconnect between knowledge and application is so pervasive that we have engineers graduating from of prestigious institutes who cannot even change a fuse.

Another salvo that parents are fond of shooting to defend the ‘Indian way of teaching sciences’ is that most doctors, scientists and engineers in US are Indians. Statistically incorrect, but this is a widespread perception when it comes to our scientific arrogance. I would not defend or dispute that claim but suffice to reflect that Indian organisations are lamenting the quality of new engineers and doctors in India, in some cases, only 25% of engineering graduates are found to be employable. Also, producing workers (doctors or engineers) with an edge in foreign lands- is that what we are so boastful about when there is rampant deprivation related to food, housing and livelihood?

Finding comfort in nostalgia, we harp on the laurels achieved by our scientists of yore like Aryabhatta and Shushruta. Fast forward to today, how many innovators and creators like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates have we produced lately? In a country where malnourishment and hunger is rampant, why have we been able to produce only one M S Swaminathan; in a country where public transport is non-existent, why have we been able to produce only one E Sreedharan? Well into the 21^st century, Indian educational set up churns out millions of engineers annually, but we are yet to figure out how to construct roads that can last one monsoon; we are a unique nation where 80% of road accidents are caused by faulty road engineering.

Our fixation with science subjects has not taken us too far as a nation, as majority of our people continue to live in deplorable conditions. It’s time to put some science back into the science subjects!

So how does one put more science into the science curriculum so as to instil scientific temper? Here are some of my thoughts, more from perspective of foundational years necessitating attitudinal shift:

1. Children are born with a scientific temper; pre-schools must design learning experiences in a way that sustains this spirit of inquiry and exploration.
2. Taking the baton from the pre-schools, the elementary schools must encourage questioning, observation, listening and problem solving among young learners. Culturally, our tolerance threshold for children’s probing and queries is very low.
3. As adults, we should take away the focus from one-right answer and keep the door of possibilities and probabilities open when it comes to interactions with children.
4. Subject boundaries should creep in only when children grasp the rationality of doing so, somewhere around mid-teens; till then all/most learning experiences should be structured to be transdisciplinary/interdisciplinary.
5. As adults we need to come down from the pedestal of ‘know-it-all’ where we have placed ourselves in our dealings with children. The desire to respond with ‘the right answer’ to every inquiry of children should be curbed and slowly eliminated. This will bode well for us as well as our children, so that they do not feel they need us as crutches in their information gathering to construct an understanding.
6. Most science lessons till middle school should be experiential with strong conceptual and theoretical underpinnings.
7. Encourage children to experiment and evaluate things that fascinate them. Help them inculcate a habit of research, analysis and reflection. Done effectively, it deepens understanding and creates linkages.
8. Young children are intelligent beings and make deductions based on observation and valid reasoning. We should refrain from mocking and laughing at their theories, which in most cases is a reflection of his world and how he sees things. For instance, if a four year old observes that the “sky is moving”; avoid a patronising tone (the ‘How cute!’ kind); avoid the urge to tear through his deduction. Being told that it is earth that moves and not the sky will only make him repeat/regurgitate without actually understanding. A scientific thought deserves a scientific answer.

The possibilities are endless and we as a community, as educationalists and as parents need to find our own answers!

Angelique Felix, mother of 5-year old Chanel, a practitioner & proponent of play with whom I have spent many hours discussing and learning about play explains, “At play, children experiment with that what they encounter in their daily lives: fears, pleasurable moments, routines etc. While the children play, they do it in their way. They put their truth in play. And we adults can understand in these moments the unspoken words of our children, by just observing them, without judgment. In free play, when there is no adult agenda, children follow their inner creativity, their source of inspiration.” A ‘play fairy’ weaving magic of play into the lives of children and adults, believes, “I call play the best possibility for children to be themselves.”

Children absorbed in self-directed play exemplify flow of liberating energies. The engagement with the act and objects of play is so complete and consuming that the world and clocks cease to exist. That perhaps explains why adults pack up instantly when it is time, but kids want to prolong their activity with complete disregard to time.

Over-involved adult can disrupt this flow during a child’s play. The well-intentioned adult could interrupt flow during play by “helping” with the difficult or “dangerous” parts; with unsolicited advice; by rushing him along so that he moves along the routine in a timely manner or praise his work in ways that would shift his attention away from the process and toward the product.

What follow are pictures of what I call, The Battle for the Bowl where two and a half years old, Raju (name changed) in a daycare setting spent his half an hour defending his way of painting:

*Raju is representative of most young children and the teacher/didi is representative of most adults around young children.

I wonder what…

• if Raju has been allowed to keep the bowl where he wanted and move on to paint what he wanted to paint.
• if the adult would have perceived the irrelevance where the paint is kept to the painting task at hand.
• if Raju had been given the opportunity to maximize the experience- smell and feel paint, strengthen hand muscles as he gripped the brush and made deliberate, repeated strokes, the interplay between wet pink paint and dry white paper.

Would he have created a Picasso or a Rembrandt- certainly not; would he have transitioned into flow- probably; would he have expressed his mental processes and physical dexterity on the large canvas of his learning and development?  I leave that to your wisdom and imagination.

For more information on Angelique Felix’s work on play see (http://www.angeliquefelix.com/)

In my first webinar I went on a learning trail with Marc, Shannon, Gaurav and what they brought to the table got me thinking real hard. Since it was my first experience of a webinar and that too facilitating the discussion with very learned panelists, I had an unconscious script in my head. The discussion around some of the views expressed by the panelists left me reconsidering that script. Introspection and reflection kicked in and that explains my much-delayed blog.

One view that stayed with me and made me closely reexamine and re-explore was,play for the sake of play alone. Children (and adults) need play because it is a sign of life, any benefits that accrue, in terms of development or otherwise, should be incidental and not glorified to being its raison d’être. Play for the sake of learning/development, reduced play as means to achieve those developmental ends and not an end in itself. So play is considered valuable because of the associated benefits and if one is not seeking those benefits or if one is not making developmental gains in the desired developmental domains while playing, then play is not serving its purpose and should be chucked! This view makes play, hardcore functional; almost like work.

Still on the whirlwind tour of deconstructing and reconstructing my understanding of play as a child’s work, I revisited Mihily Csikszentmihaly’s concept of flow that re-emerged as a state within optimal experiences that are an end in themselves. Children have these optimal experiences when they are playing. The natural conclusion was, play should not be children’s work; it should be their play. During this reflective phase, the picture of play was crystal clear and consolidated in the recesses of my grey cells.

Having better understood the picture that emerged, I decided to look at the lens through which this picture emerged, more analytically. This picture stayed when I wore the lenses of an academician/theoretic/researcher/playworker and as a child as they dwell in the present. But the lens was not very comfortable. Seeking comfort, I decided to change the lens to that of regulations-bound caregiver/outcomes-driven teacher/multitasking, time-deficit parents who are more future-centric when it comes to their children. Viewing through this lens, the perception of play changed completely. Now the picture of play for the sake of play alone was like a very expensive, abstract painting, that we know is probably valuable but cannot fathom its meaning or the rationale for its value. This lens fitted me well.

The forces of push and pull in the lives of adult caregiver/teacher/parent, who are largely responsible for the experiences in the lives of young children, inhibits our appreciation of play for the sake of play. These inhibitors can be curriculum overload or enrichment programs; or over-competitive ‘knowledge-based’ world of work. Parents/caregivers/educators have taken a detour from the path of play for the sake of play and now we find ourselves a little lost. For us to acknowledge that the road of play we deviated from was the correct one, we need to see that play works; that it indeed is the right path.

Play for the sake of play will continue to be a fine-sounding abstract concept for such ‘gone-astray’ adults who function like a flesh and blood version of a hard drive. However, if they can be made to see that play is developmental and in natural rhythm with the environment and who we are as living beings, then ‘play for the sake of play’ becomes more tangible concept to understand and aspire for.

Teaching jobs are a very popular vocation for spouses of expatriates and travelers from across the world. International schools offer employment opportunities for expats in India especially those who  are English native speakers  and those with prior experience in international schools. In addition, there are many teaching opportunities for native speakers of foreign languages like French, German, Chinese, etc English is widely spoken in India’s academic and business environments. Thus, qualified teachers with a high proficiency of English are always welcome at international and public Indian schools.

Teaching experience alone is not enough. As an expat teacher at an international school in India, you will be confronted with many cultural differences and as you acculturate yourself, you will be expected to acknowledge and celebrate the cultural diversity that your students and colleagues bring to school. However with increased opportunities for immigration and professional mobility, this is a challenge that many schools all across the world are grappling with.

Public schools and language institutions offer teaching jobs as well. Foreign students, recent graduates, expat spouses or expats who travel a lot, often choose this option. It gives them the freedom to travel and explore India, while gaining first hand teaching experience in the classroom.

While you are looking for jobs like these, you may find that many teaching opportunities are on a volunteer basis. They are often offered in public schools which lack good teachers. Other options include teaching English at a private language institution or provide tutoring service from home. If you would rather work as a freelancer, there are companies that sometimes like to hire language teachers to help their employees learn or improve their English.

When it comes to finding the right school for your child, if you live in one of the expat hot spots like Mumbai, it may be quite easy to find ‘the right school’. Cities like New Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Gurgaon and Pune have international schooling options that cater to the preferences of the big expat community living there.

In India, it is important to consider the school’s location and proximity to your residence, especially if you reside in one of the bigger cities. Mumbai or New Delhi are huge urban areas and choosing a school at the other end of the city would most certainly make for a very long and tiring commute for your child.

Other than that, international schools come in different sizes, with different academic focus and different programs. At the end of the day, it is up to the parent to decide which school will be the best choice for his child.

This article has been contributed by InterNations. InterNations GmbH is the international social networking service for expats and global minds worldwide. The members are diplomats, managers and employees of multinational companies, IGOs and NGOs, foreign correspondents as well as their families. InterNations is a place where they can interact with other internationally-minded individuals sharing the same situation abroad, similar interests, and needs and also meet up in over 270 communities on a regular basis.

Late last year, we put together some of my learnings around play in the form of an eBook titled “Play is Work”. To consolidate our understanding of the role of play in shaping lives – in children and adults – we connected with proponents and practitioners of play from across the globe. This webinar is, hopefully, the first of a series to discuss and share with the wider audience the benefits and nuances of play.

This webinar brings together experts/practitioners from North America, Europe and India to share their beliefs and experiences so that we learn to play on!

Our panelists:

Juyal Gaurav: A creative visualiser from National Institute of Design, Gaurav hosts a series of creative programmes for children and adults on Disney Channel.

Marc Armitage: Is a playworker, an independent consultant, researcher and writer in children’s play and the wider social world of children and young people from 0-19 years.

Shannon Tex Holden: Based in USA, Shannon is currently an administrator at a Middle School in Missouri, and also an adjunct instructor for Lindenwood University and Missouri State University.

Nancy Villasis: A university professor and a school teacher/administrator working for International Baccalaureate schools and other highly demanding educational institutions in several countries in South and North America.

Kirti Pankaj: An ECE educator from a private school in Canada, who nurtures happy, creative and well-informed young minds through her daily interactions.

Event Timing and Registration

Date: Tuesday, June 7th, 2011

Time: 8:30 pm IST (+5:30 hrs)

Topic: Play is Work

Registration URL:  https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/52610411

Webinar Coverage:

1. Where are we today? Perspectives on play in the life of children and adults today.
2. Play in the life of children – what’s the deal? What’s the BIG deal? Play in the early childhood programs. How can more play be injected into the existing early childhood program?
3. Play in the life of adults – When do we stop playing? What are some consequences of this? What are some interesting and encouraging trends to bring back play in the lives of adults?
4. Q & A

My deep regard for preschool teachers stems from the crucial role that they play in bridging the child’s transition from home to school as well as set the tone for his/her learning in formal, structured environs of a school. Envy comes from the vibrant and stimulating world of possibilities that they inhabit with 3-6 years old eager beavers and uninhibited munchkins who are very creative, expressive and intelligent on one hand and impressionable on the other.

The influence that a preschool teacher wields is second only to that of rock stars and political leaders. The kids hang on her every word and observe and imitate every move placing her on a pedestal, a few notches higher that their parents, without her knowledge or consent.

At the expense of reiterating the obvious, teachers need to understand and appreciate this tremendous power they have over these kids. This bestows on them the responsibility to create a safe, stimulating and sensitive learning environment for the children without in any way negatively impacting or influencing their development.

Schools often hire preschool teachers randomly; wearing conceptual blinkers believing teaching preschoolers is a simple job, where ignorant little children are seen to be empty vessels to be filled with letters, sounds, numbers and lines. The culture of trivia is well inculcated in society and not only many a preschool teachers believe it but live up to it; perceiving themselves to be no more than glorified baby-sitters, perpetuating a pattern of haphazard, shallow activities aimed at keeping kids occupied and NOT engaged. Parents themselves do not believe that preschools have anything more to offer their kids than to keep them safe for a few hours, while they are at work.

In many preschools, the stress on academics and standardized, structured learning is preferred, with the main objective being to ensure uniformity of product in terms of “school readiness”. Thinking completely in the box, preschools/teachers confuse the foundation for the structure itself and instead of inculcating in the child the joy of learning, they jumpstart learning defined very narrowly to mean literacy and numeracy.  Preschools need to be cognizant of how children develop naturally instead of wasting precious time and effort in how they can be made to fit into the system. Any waste or delay is criminal as these kids have the sharpest learning curve for the first 5 years of their lives. Time lost by them can never be reclaimed.

All teachers, in particular the preschool teachers, should be like skillful and sensitive potters who, first understand the temperament and nature of clay, then mould it by manipulating it from without while supporting it from within and then, patiently, let it settle in that form.

Alas, just as it is difficult to find a master potter, effective preschool teachers are also hard to come by!

My soon-to-be 5 year old son has a habit of reading or being told stories during mealtimes. On many occasions, these story-telling sessions become a whole family affair and the boundaries between the real world and the imaginary begin to blur.

During one such lunchtime story telling session last week, I narrated the heart warming and inspiring story of Soma Sharan.  Thereafter, I extended the discussion to hypothesis, opening the floodgates of possibilities where imagination reigns supreme. His dada (paternal grandfather) who was also listening in on the discussion popped a question, “Now that Soma is a happy, healthy girl; and in the future will have a lot of money, her parents, who had abandoned her to die as a newborn, come to her. What do you think she will do?”

As if it was a no-brainer for him, the not-yet five year old replied promptly, “They will all hug each other and be happy.”

The other incident involved these three very ‘active’ 7 year old boys living in my condominium block, whose mothers, seemingly, have memorized the directory of the local emergency services in anticipation of their sons’ requiring it any day, any time particularly when they are together.

Last Monday, two of the boys had a difference of opinion over sharing a bicycle with the third boy, which led to one of them getting accidently hurt, bleeding profusely, followed by frantic calls and apologies galore.

Two days later, I meet the same three boys and couldn’t help but eavesdrop as they planned a pizza party and sleepover. The incident that was less than 48 hours old had been forgotten as it was insignificant and trifle.

Both incidents and these little people have big lessons for adults. I look forward to my next interaction with kids and, more specifically, to mealtime with my son to grow wiser from the simplistic yet profound insights with which people his age perceive this world and their understanding of relationships.

As I await my next learning at the dining table, I pause to ponder: Did I get the concept of EQ right, Peter Salovey and John Mayer?

Thinking through the paradigm of the child-adult differential, one can see the very delicate and precious thread of play linking the world of the child and the world of the adult. Looking through the bifocal lens, the adult gazes at the future at a great distance and the child tries to make sense of world in front of him at present. I try to make sense of some gaping disconnects, a few realizations and catchy catechisms.

The boundaries begin to blur as I wonder:

• Why are artists more creative than corporate professionals?

• Why do we sit in awe at the circus or Tom and Jerry Show?

• Why do we have more game players than game designers?

• Why is it that when we talk of play for our children, the first thing that comes to mind is toys?

• Why is our capacity to self-regulate on the decline, as evident in our daily environment and news headlines?

• Are we personalizing for professionalizing parenthood?

• Are works of worth created by multitasking or by play-like rapt engagement?

• Why is it that adults pack up instantly when it is time, but kids want to prolong their activity with complete disregard to time?

• Why do adults miss something right under their nose (quite literally – “What are the lines between the nose and mouth called?), while children have an eye for details?

• Why is that a very learned me does not have satisfactory answers to simple factual questions of my four year old like the one mentioned above and the question is followed by another while he can come up with very original, plausible and logical answers to all my questions?

In the 1985 movie, The Sure Thing, the lead lady (played by Daphne Zuniga), defends herself when accused of being uptight with, “I am as spontaneous as anyone. I simply believe that spontaneity has its time and place.”

Adults must relearn the art of playfulness. Actually, most of us are quite willing, just waiting for permission/validation.

However, my opportunities for observing and learning were greatly enhanced with the birth of my own son – Aaryan. It was as though a new window had opened up for me, which provided fascinating new insights. As can be expected, there was no structure or sequence to when these opportunities for learning presented themselves and all that was required was a keen sense of observation and in many instances, giving my toddler son a slightly longer rope to interact and play with materials, spaces and people – whether it was him wanting to repeatedly crawl up and down the stairway (under the hawk-like gaze of his parents – always ready to catch but never interfering), or him chatting up the pretty young lady in the payment queue at Walmart, even before he acquired verbal language.

As Aaryan grew from being a free spirited toddler to walking, we started giving him more freedom to explore his surrounding. We would take him to Chapters and Early Years Centre and let him play on his own, observe him from a distance, as he learned to play with the children’s toys strewn in the play area, first by observing other kids, then by experimenting and trying himself – sometimes curbing our own instincts to help him with a problem. We also saw him learn to interact with kids of all ages – first by following them, and then by running with them, subsequently settling into what he considers his most effective, “Will you play with me?” For him Play was what he did, it was the way he learned and in that context play was serious work.

We made a conscious decision to return to India when Aaryan turned two. We did this to enable him to be with his extended family and to experience the sensory delights India has to offer. Closer to home we found Landmark, a poor cousin of Chapters and Aaryan is a regular there, a beginner reader with many books to choose from and then the toy sections, that fuels his imagination and lets him vent his internal narrative. At home, Aaryan finds more joy in cutting newspaper with scissors (under close supervision) and in playing with bubble wrap or cardboard cartons than with playing with the toys in his toy bin. Everyday household products have contributed to his learning and fired his imagination, as there is a story around everything he constructs.

During these four years when my son turned my greatest teacher, I have also engaged in extensive reading on the subject of play which has in many ways validated my interpretation of what I observed and in other cases influenced how I looked at the next sequence of “Aaryan’s work”. Encouraged by what I saw and learned, I decided to write an e-book late last year, to share my experiences and get the opinion of other educators. I have been overwhelmed by the response it has received, from India as well as Europe and the Americas and surprised at the distribution my work has achieved. I am truly humbled.

This is just the beginning as there is a lot more to learn from children at play. My musings in my eBook potentially represent only one chapter of a much more detailed book on early childhood education that I am researching and propose to have ready in the next few years.

I would like to grow some more by learning from other parents and educators as well as share with them my experiences and learnings. In the next few weeks, I will be organising a series of interactions, with parents and educators, the details of which are yet to be finalised. Please feel free to contact me if you would like to participate.

My experiences reproduced in this blog was originally published on futurechat

This cliff hanger of a fortnight promises a nail-biting finish for most parents of 3 years old children in the NCR. Renowned education consultant, Mrs. Abha Adams believes, “Nursery admissions in the NCR will remain contentious and controversial as long as demand outstrips supply. Due to bad planning, schools of choice are not available across all areas in the NCR. New schools have come into existence but everyone tends to zero into 4 or 5 schools that they perceive to deliver quality.”

The issues relating to nursery admissions remain much the same as a decade ago. In 2006, a committee headed by Mr. Ashok Ganguly, the then Chairman of CBSE, was given the mandate to formulate admission norms into primary/pre-primary schools. The Ganguly Committee, as it is popularly referred to, formulated the 100 points system, which initially also faced huge criticism from all stakeholders.

The ambiguous wording of the Right to Education Act (RTE), 2009 and the lack of clarity on part of policy makers have muddled the admission waters further. An issue as important as education for our diverse multitudes is so fraught with emotions that no single policy can possibly be acceptable to all. The wordings and nuances of policy and their possible interpretation are invariably analysed ad nauseam and open to interpretation making it controversial from the outset. Mrs Adams concurs, “The continued confusion about the point system, the flip flops on the part of the Delhi government on criteria for admission, UP and Haryana singing from a different hymn book creates further chaos”.

Clause 13 (1) of RTE, which reads, “while admitting a child, no school or person shall subject the child or his/her parents to any screening procedure” (screening procedure, as defined by Section 2 (o), refers to “the method of selection for admission of a child, in preference over another, other than a random method”) has implications for Nursery admissions.

Sticklers to the letter of the law, interpret clause 13 (1) read in conjunction with Clause 2(o) to mean that the only allowable and fair system is to select students through a lottery. Critics of the pure play lottery system find it unsustainable and rigid as it overrides all professional, personal and locational considerations. There is also the undeniable rationale of giving preference to the sibling of an enrolled student.

It is precisely for these reasons, as communicated by many school governing bodies and parents, that the Ministry of HRD clarified (vide letter dated December 10, 2010) that “keeping in view the unique background, ethos and objectives of the schools in Delhi, the categorisation of the applicants should be on the basis of a criteria developed in terms of the objectives of the school and can include sibling, transfer case, single parent and alumni.” Delhi government shifted its original stance from favouring the completely random lottery system to providing greater flexibility to schools in determining their own admission criteria. On December 15, 2010, the Directorate of Education (DoE) issued an order that “each school should formulate a policy under which admissions are to take place. The policy shall include criteria for categorisation of applications in terms of the objectives of the school on a rational, reasonable and just basis. There should be no profiling of the child based on parental education qualifications… There shall be no testing and interviews of any child/parent falling within or outside the categories, and selection would be on a random basis.”

In response to being allowed the flexibility of deciding “school specific criteria”, some prominent schools came up with interesting and innovative categories – points for parents having participated in Asiad, Olympics, etc (DPS, RK Puram and DPS, Mathura Road), points for twins (DPS, Vasant Kunj and Laxman Public School), points for parents being employed in certain types of government service (DPS, Rohini), etc.

Very often, the school specific criteria were found to be in direct or indirect contravention of the letter and spirit of the regulation. That perhaps explains why, despite the RTE regulation explicitly stating that “there should be no profiling of the child based on parental education qualifications”, some schools choose to blatantly disregard it. Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights slammed the city government’s nursery admission guidelines as “violative” of the Right to Education Act, issuing it a notice seeking immediate revision of the order, accusing the Delhi Government of having “given its own interpretations and made changes that contravene the provisions of the Act which strictly prohibit any screening procedure.” A civil rights group also moved the Delhi High court against the guidelines issued by the Delhi government. Public scrutiny and societal outrage has made DoE force some schools, including the DPS schools, to withdraw the contravening criteria.

But parents like Puja Agarwal (name changed), a Delhi based lawyer who is seeking admission for her three-years old daughter says that the whole process is not very confidence inspiring, “It has been very stressful, because each school has a different criteria, based on which documents have to be collated. Two schools I applied to had allocated points for contributions to society. It took me 4 – 5 days to find documentary proof to claim those points. When I went to the school, I wasn’t asked any questions and relevant boxes were ticked; all over in 2 minutes. One can’t help get the feeling that it is all a sham.” Mrs. Abha Adams observes, “I just cannot imagine how one can measure this criterion (contribution to society)!”

So how do schools ensure a level-playing field for parents so that they are not caught in the midst of this crossfire and chaos? Mr. Inder Dutt Salwan, Director, Salwan Public School, Mayur Vihar, maintains, “For the sake of fair play, we must have a commonsensical and simple mantra. School should entertain applications from parents within the catchment area only and (who) can afford to pay the school fee. As the number of applicants is more than the available seats, those with siblings should be given preference and lottery for the remaining. I feel that other criteria are unnecessary and can be manipulated for back-door entries”. Reflecting on the current practice, Mr. Amit Puri, father of a 3 year old, concludes, “Unfortunately, it all boils down to who I know. If my contacts are better than yours, my child will get in.”

So what is the answer to this challenge that begins to haunt the parents of 3 years old with the dawn of every New Year in the NCR? “None”, says Lalage Prabhu, ex-Principal of The British School, New Delhi, “No matter what criteria are adopted, some children will always be at a disadvantage.” Morever, a redistribution of existing capacity amongst a growing population of students is certainly not the answer. What NCR needs is the creation of incremental capacity and the improvement in quality of the thousands of schools, both public and private. Successive governments that have failed to ensure this and now require the government and civic society’s urgent attention. Efforts in improvement in quality will have a wider and more immediate impact, as there is only limited capacity to establish new schools in Delhi due to considerations related to land availability and its prohibitive cost. It is criminal that government schools, which have large parcels of prime property earmarked for education, are not held accountable for the education that they deliver, even in the RTE. The government needs to recognise its responsibility towards the future voters of this country and acknowledge that differential politics when it comes to dealings with private schools vs. public schools will have marginal impact. Until then, all policy initiatives will essentially be treating the symptom rather than the malaise.